A ladder inspection is a recorded, hands-on check of each ladder on a site — stiles, rungs, feet, locks, labels — by someone who knows what a failing ladder looks like, plus a look at how ladders are chosen, stored and moved. This form gives every ladder its own entry with the checks for its type, and ends each one with a pass or a fail and what happened to it. You can fill it in here and download the record as a PDF without creating an account.
Pre-use check, detailed inspection
The person about to climb a ladder looks it over first: feet, stiles, rungs, locks. That pre-use check catches damage done since yesterday and should happen every time.
The detailed inspection is the recorded one, done by someone competent at a set interval — commonly every three to six months for site ladders, more often in heavy use — and whenever a ladder has been dropped, struck or blown over. Guidance from the ANSI A14 family in the US and EN 131 and HSE guidance in the UK covers what to look at; this form does not certify compliance with any of them.
Each type fails in its own way
Choose the type on each entry and only its checks appear:
- Stepladders and platform steps — spreaders or locking bars that do not lock, a split top cap, a platform that flexes, legs that rock on level ground.
- Extension ladders — rung locks that do not catch on both sides, frayed rope, bent guide brackets, missing swivel shoes.
- Telescopic ladders — a section lock that does not show its indicator, and sections that close fast enough to trap a finger.
- Fixed ladders — fixings corroding into the structure, a cage with missing hoops, no extension above the landing to hold onto.
Fibreglass, aluminium and timber
Fibreglass is chosen near electricity because it does not conduct when it is clean and sound. When the surface breaks down it shows fibres standing proud — "fibre bloom" — and it can start to hold moisture and dirt. A cracked or bloomed fibreglass stile is a failure, not a cosmetic note.
Aluminium dents and bends; a stile with a visible kink has lost much of its strength. Timber splits, rots and hides both under paint, which is why painted timber ladders are a problem in themselves.
A failed ladder has to disappear
The most common ladder failure in an inspection record is not a cracked stile. It is a ladder failed last time and found back in use this time. The form asks, for each failed ladder, whether it was tagged and taken away from the work, and asks at the top whether anything failed last time came back.
Repairs are for the maker or a competent person using the maker's parts. Anything else — tape round a split stile, a bolt through a cracked rung — is itself a reason to fail it.
Common questions
How often should ladders be inspected?
Before each use by the user, and in a recorded detailed inspection at an interval your procedure sets — every three to six months is common for site ladders. Also after any drop, impact or fall, and before a new ladder is first used.
Who can inspect a ladder?
Anyone competent: trained to know what defects look like for the types of ladder being checked, and able to take a ladder out of use. For most sites that is a supervisor or a trained user, not a specialist.
Should ladders be tagged?
Many sites use a tag or label showing the ladder's number and last inspection date, which makes an out-of-date or failed ladder obvious at a glance. Whatever system you use, the ladder's ID has to match this register.
Can a damaged ladder be repaired?
Only by the maker or a competent person using the maker's parts and method. Improvised repairs are a fail in their own right. For most damage to stiles, a new ladder is cheaper than a proper repair.
When is a ladder the wrong tool?
When the job is long, heavy, needs both hands, or means stretching sideways. A podium, a mobile tower or a scissor lift is usually safer. Ladders are for short, light work where three points of contact can be kept — the arrangements section asks whether that choice is being made.